How Can Students Be Motivated: Misplaced Question?

Rocio A. Ramos Manzano [Group: Management of classroom and school life]

March 29, 2014

EDFU3012-003-B32)

ARTICLE 29: HOW CAN STUDENTS BE MOTIVATED: MISPLACED QUESTION?

1 Article 29: Reflection

I BELIEVE THAT EVERY TEACHER KNOWS THAT MOTIVATION IS KEY BUT HOW MANY OF US ACTUALLY TAKE THE TIME TO THINK MORE DEEPLY ABOUT IT AND TO ASK DEEP QUESTIONS OF OUR STUDENTS. I THINK WE SHOULD PARTICULARLY DO THIS WITH THE STUDENTS WE HAVE CONCERNS ABOUT OR WHOSE LEARNING IS BEGINNING TO SLIP. BEFORE WE CAN DO THIS WE NEED TO TAKE TIME EARLY IN THE YEAR TO FIND OUT WHAT REALLY MOTIVATES OR STUDENTS. THIS DATA COULD BE GATHERED INITIALLY THROUGH A SURVEY WITH SOME FOLLOW ON DISCUSSION. NOTE DOWN YOUR FINDINGS AND FIND WAYS TO TAP INTO THEIR MOTIVATIONS IN THE WAY YOU TEACH. I THINK MOTIVATION IS A POWERFUL TOOL THAT WE COULD EXPLORE AND UTILIZE FURTHER IN OUR TEACHING.

Student motivation is a complicated concept, which there are numerous possible causes of low motivation. Low motivation can be related to poor study habits compounded by procrastination. Other factors contributing to or exacerbating low motivation could be a lack of connection to or engagement with the discipline being studied or the methods used by instructors or advisors to engage the student. Psychological experiences such as low academic commitment, mental health issues or perhaps a generational effect where students are of the first generation in their families to attend school may also contribute to low motivation. Some students are naturally enthusiastic about learning and working at school, others are not. Unfortunately, there is no single magic recipe for motivating all students all at the same time.

In a school life and within classroom management discipline to the students is a major step to inspiring them to keep their motivation day by day without losing that motivation. Students now a days tend to be more distracted by everything around them and tend to be more easily influenced by others who lack in school. An educator’s job so along with the whole school system including The Board of E.D (The Board of Education) is to inspire students in their educational lives, to be more respectful towards your own students. Showing your thanks to the students reveals a teacher’s genuine car and respect for students and their world. By a sincere gratitude can make a student feel noticed, recognized and appreciated. Recognized students’ actions can wholly make a difference in attaining class or individual goals helps learners understand how to achieve a high standard. Katzenbach (2006) argued that pride is what ultimately motivates individuals both in the classroom and the workplace to excel at what they do. Specifically, he contends that more than half a century of clinical and academic research by scholars such as Maslow, Herzberg and Csikszentmihalyi points the motivational compass in one direction: pride in the world itself is the most powerful agent of change and performance.

2 Survey of Common Classroom Motivational Strategies

Group A: Motivational Strategies that could best be characterized as Extrinsic/External

Form/ Strategy Advantages Disadvantages

Grades and Rewards Tangible, familiar, motivating to students who value them. Similar to monetary motivators in that they work as rewards.

Shift focus away from learning goals. Increased levels of the reinforcement may be necessary to maintain effect. Can rob students of intrinsic sources of motivation.

Incentives Can be useful to define valued outcomes or processes. Help clarify the focus of the effort. Can lose their value over time if used repeatedly. Students may expect them after a while.

Personal Praise

Feels good. Works to make student work harder. Works in short-term. Can be addictive. Can reduce student’s internal locus of control. Can be manipulative.

Punishments, Shaming and Threats Works in the short-term. Motivates students who are used to that technique. Can help clarify the boundaries in a class. Can promote students merely avoiding getting caught. Does not inspire high quality behavior. Can create hostility and resentment.

Public Recognition

Can reward behavior and effort that may not be rewarded by peers. Feels good to recipient. Can reinforce pre-existing “haves” and “have-nots.” Requires consistency and thought.

Phone Calls Home Can alert parents to patterns of which they may not have been aware. Demonstrates a commitment to the student’s success. Positive calls can have a profoundly positive outcome. Sends the message that the teacher may not be able to handle the student alone. Parents may not be helpful, may be the cause of the problem, or be enablers of the problem. Acts as public shaming. Can appear as a sign of weakness.

Group B:

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